Winston Churchill asked Australia for multiple platypuses during World War II, aiming to secure personal affection amid feelings of abandonment. His namesake platypus, Winston, died shortly before reaching England in 1943. The journey was informed by another platypus, Splash, which had successfully been kept in captivity and later served as a diplomatic gesture. Splash sat on Churchill's desk during Operation Platypus, linking their fates. Churchill's desire for platypuses reflects his eccentric interests and the peculiar nature of wartime diplomacy.
Splash sat on Churchill's desk while Operation Platypus, a series of reconnaissance missions in Borneo, was under way. Academics say 'platypus diplomacy' was an attempt to secure Churchill's personal affections after feeling abandoned by Britain during the war.
Without Splash, there wouldn't have been an attempt to send Winston. He defined how you look after a platypus in captivity. Magnificently idiotic, Churchill famously kept a menagerie, which included kangaroos and black swans.
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